Vasily Grossman: Zhilitsa - some remarkable word play

[Laura Kline]

Perhaps, then, the word "sdavat'" refers not only to turning in the paper, but to turning people in to the police. The preceding line "Chego zhe eto my sidim" could also be seen as a reference to imprisonment.

-----Original Message-----
From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list [mailto:SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu] On Behalf Of Olga Meerson
Sent: Monday, December 07, 2009 4:05 PM
To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Vasily Grossman: Zhilitsa - some remarkable word play

Robert, dear, do not listen to big card players very knowledgeable about Russian literature--if, that is, what they say is that you should IGNORE a double-entendre. Card players think card-playing terminology is ONLY about playing cards, even if they are knowledgeable about their own national literature--which, for Russians, is a given but too often, alas, on a very automatized level. What you are seeing or on some level suspecting is definitely there. Right before that passage, the verb sdavat' referred to that document, and omitting an object always creates an ambiguity between different idiomatic meanings of a verb. Trust your ear! I am convinced that the double-entendre is at least as intentional as the allusion to the Queen of Spades in Shalamov's ??????? ?????? ? ???????? ???????.

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